The Case of Michael Jackson, April 30 & May 1

By

Zach Cole

April 2, 2010

Jackson's musical director, Michael Bearden, will be a featured guest artist on April 30.

Photo supplied by artist

Students and faculty from Berklee College of Music will be performing the original musical, The Case of Michael Jackson: MJ or King of Pop?, on Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. in the Berklee Performance Center. The show will feature the musical talents of drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, This Is It musical director Michael Bearden, and more than 30 Berklee students. Tickets to the musical are $10 for the general public and are available at the Berklee Performance Center box office. For information, call 617 747-2261 or visit berkleebpc.com.

The musical takes place immediately after Michael Jackson's passing, with a Los Angeles detective searching for the cause of Jackson's death. The detective's search leads him on a journey through the past and the present, allowing him to discover Jackson's real gift and his own humanity. Students will sing and dance to such notable Michael Jackson classics as "Bad," "Thriller," "Dancing Machine," and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

Grammy-nominated musician Terri Lyne Carrington will serve as musical director. The Michael Jackson Ensemble, directed by Carrington, will perform the music. Michael Bearden, Michael Jackson's musical director for This Is It, the series of shows that were to be Jackson's comeback before his unexpected death, will be the featured guest artist. He has worked with renowned musicians, such as D'Angelo, Herbie Hancock, India.Arie, and Whitney Houston. Liberal Arts professor Rebecca Perricone is the musical's director, and Ear Training instructor Darcel Wilson and student Emily Miller are preparing the vocal arrangements. Eartha Robinson, who has acted in and choreographed major films including Malcolm X and Vampire in Brooklyn, is arranging the choreography for the students.

Liberal Arts professor Amy Merril led the script writing in Berklee's Advanced Theatre Writing Workshop in the fall semester. The musical was produced in the spring semester by the Advanced Theatre Production Workshop.